Here below is that interview from Berlusconi’s friend and current Mediaset President Fedele Confalonieri.
A bit about the man himself: “It’s not in the political scene that you see the real Berlusconi. The real Berlusconi isn’t the one all done-up for TV. You see the authentic Berlusconi in his private life, in business. And in football. He didn’t buy Milan though for political reasons. I am a witness to this. I remember the day he told us he wanted to buy the club. As a Milan fan, I said yes right away. Adriano Galliani, who knew the world of football, feared the unknown of the club’s accounts and tried to discourage him. But he couldn’t understand. Silvio and I grew up with the legend of Gren, Nordhal and Liedholm. Together we went to watch them at San Siro. It was our Sunday tradition. It was also our tradition to argue after the match! Even today, there are occasions in which we have discussions over the team, which may not be at the highest levels, but can still reach important goals. 30 years ago, Milan were in disarray. Those who aren’t fans can’t understand how much that hurt. Football is a belief, not a passion.”
Berlusconi offered his support before 1986: “The San Siro was something else for me and also for Silvio, who even before buying the club in 1986 tried to help it. During the days of the Felice Colombo Presidency, that of the last Scudetto won by Gianni Rivera, Berlusconi went to the directors of the day and said ‘I won’t ask for anything, I will provide the money to buy that young player from Lanerossi Vicenza’. It was Paolo Rossi. But nothing came of it. Years later Colombo explained the reasons why: ‘With Rivera on one side and Berlusconi on the other, I would have been overwhelmed by their personalities.’ “
The big moment finally arrived: “We were flying back from St. Moritz when Silvio confirmed he wanted to purchase Milan. We hugged and celebrated as if we had just scored a goal. What times… the afternoon of February 20, 1986 we signed the contract in a studio of an accountant who was an Inter fan, Pompeo Locatelli. Berlusconi has given his all in football just as he has done in TV and with the same strategy. He took his managers to a retreat in Castello di Pomerio and explained his plan. ‘We have to become the best club in the world and play the best football in the world’.”
Berlusconi’s personal-touch has been key: “With the players he acted as he did with show-business stars: he dealt with them personally. That was how it went for the first big buy, Roberto Donadoni, from Atalanta. At that time it was far from easy. Juventus had a sort of first-dibs on players. But Berlusconi got his man. The Atalanta President then explained: ‘I sold him to you because you invited me to dinner.’ He did the same with Ruud Gullit, he went to the club leaders and said: ‘Tell me how much, because with him I will fill the San Siro.’ “
The decision to appoint Arrigo Sacchi changed everything: “At the start, we had Nils Liedholm, the Baron, as coach. But after losing to Sacchi’s Parma, newly promoted in Serie A, Berlusconi decided who he would entrust the team to in the future. Let’s just say Berlusconi understands a lot about football. He has the right eye: after Sacchi, he chose Fabio Capello. Sacchi was a tough coach, he wanted his players to run and press for 90 minutes. Capello had been a player, he made them run less. But he also won a lot. And after them, Carlo Ancelotti won a lot too.”
Confalonieri dispelled a myth: “Berlusconi is anything but a huge spender. To convince him to buy Alessandro Nesta, along with Galliani we had to behave like in that Hitchcock film, ‘The Trouble with Harry’! After a Champions League qualifier, we plotted to convince him. He was abroad for a political meeting. We told him that Milan conceded a goal from a throw-in and that the defence needed strengthening if we wanted to keep winning… he fetched his wallet and bought Nesta from Lazio.”
On today’s plans for the President: “He is determined to keep going. With mister Bee or mister C, he wants Milan to go back to the top. His displays of anger and his interference show that. He belongs to the era of president-owners, that did it for the love of the team and the city. On the other side of Milan, the Moratti family have created a glorious history at Inter. Fantastic people, fair and sporting. Now is the era of Sheikhs and Asian tycoons.”